Lice: What Are They and How To Treat Them!

HEAD LICE

An infestation of head lice commonly occurs in school-aged children. Although an infestation by lice may be harmless (as lice themselves are not known to carry disease) it can be an extremely anxiety provoking experience for parents.

The following is information directly from the CDC website: “Head lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk. Spread by contact with clothing (such as hats, scarves, coats) or other personal items (such as combs, brushes, or towels) used by an infested person is uncommon. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.”

First line treatment of head lice as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is 1% Permethrin which is available over the counter.

Some other at home measures recommended by our nurses to get rid of persistent lice:

-Day 4 after first treatment: Gold Listerine- saturate hair for 10 minutes, rinse out and comb out nits

-Over-the-counter furniture spray is available for cars, couches, etc.

-Comb out nits every day using nit comb, cleaning off comb after each comb through hair to ensure nits are not re-introduced to hair